Barclays new app transfers money by mobile phone

By MARK HENNESSY.

THE ERA of the cashless society has moved a step closer, following the launch yesterday in Britain of a new mobile telephone payment system by Barclays Bank - the first of its kind in Europe.

Using Barclay's PingIt, a customer will be able to send up to £300 daily to another person knowing only their mobile number, as long as the receiver's bank details are registered with ¡®PingIt'.

For now, only Barclays' 11.9 million current-account holders will be able to send money, using a five-digit PIN, though anyone with a UK current account can receive funds through the system.

From March, current-account holders with all UK banks will be able to send money using the service: "I'm sure we'll soon be wondering what we did before it," said Anthony Jenkins, chief executive of Barclays retail and business banking.

No bank details are exchanged during the transfer, which takes 30 seconds and which is free, for now. Both senders and recipients will be notified by SMS about transactions.

Users can download an app for iPhone, Android or Blackberry phones. Those without smart-phones can use PingIt's website to make or receive payments.

For now, the service is limited to personal accounts, though Barclays said the daily sums allowable should make it useful for "sole traders such as window cleaners or plumbers".

Mr Jenkins said, in time, bill payments and international payments could be added to the software.

Besides the minimum payment of £1 and the maximum of £300, Barclays has also set a total daily limit that can be sent of £300 and a £5,000 limit on the maximum that can be received by any one account.

Saying it will revolutionise the way people use money, Mr Jenkins cited examples such as friends splitting the cost of dinner, repaying a borrowed £10, or sending money to a son or daughter at university.

Sean Gilchrist, Barclays' head of digital banking, said the app employs "industry-standard encryption" and can be automatically wiped if a mobile is lost. But it should be locked when not in use.

However, Rachel Springall of the Moneyfacts comparison website warned that customers would need to be careful to use the correct mobile number and to send the right amount.

Users must be registered to receive payments - pending payments will be held for 24 hours and the instruction will be cancelled if the recipient has not registered during that time.

The Barclays move puts it into competition against the eBay-owned PayPal, which already has a similar app, although the bank - with its high-street presence - believes it has a branding advantage over eBay.

Barclays pushes out Pingit phone-based payment app

By Ben Woods.

Barclays Bank has launched Pingit, a service that lets people send and receive money using a smartphone, without sharing banking details. Barclay's Pingit app for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry lets people send and receive cash using just a phone number.

The Pingit app can be used to make payments to anyone who has a current account with any British bank or building society, Barclays said in its announcement on Thursday. Participants sign up online to link their banking details with their mobile phone number, so that the phone number is all that is needed for the transfer, the company added.

At launch on Thursday, only Barclays current account customers will be able to send money via the app. However, any UK current account holder can register to receive payments. An update to the Pingit app expected in early March will open the payment part of the service up to everyone.

"For friends splitting the cost of dinner, repaying a borrowed £10 or people sending money to a son or daughter at university, it's free, quick, convenient, secure and easy to use," Antony Jenkins, chief executive of Barclays retail and business banking, said in a statement. "You can send and receive money in seconds, without having to enter account details."

Google Wallet hits the town: In pictures

The Pingit app is available on the Apple iOS, Android and BlackBerry platforms, and can be downloaded from the related app stores. It requires iOS 4.2 or above, Android 2.2 or above and BlackBerry OS 4.6 or newer.

Payment limits for the service are in place, with the minimum transfer set at £1 and the maximum in one transaction at £300. The daily limit for receiving payments is £5,000.

Pingit could pose a challenge to PayPal's mobile payment service, which, unlike Barclays, imposes transaction fees for consumers. Small businesses using Pingit will have to pay "normal transaction charges", Barclays said.

In May, Barclays teamed up with Orange to introduce the first mobile wallet scheme in the UK. The contactless payment scheme made it possible for people with certain handsets, such as the Samsung Tocco Quick Tap, to buy products under £15 via an app.

Laptop Battery Replacement: